Canby football fell on the road to undefeated Tualatin Friday night, 62-33, for their fifth loss of the season. But it was the Cougs’ highest point total in more than two years, since defeating Newberg 34-27 on Sept. 15, 2017 (which was also their last win).
It was also the highest point total allowed by the Timberwolves in their first five games this season — all wins.
Much of the Cougars’ success on the scoreboard came from super soph Mikey Gibson, who earned his first start at quarterback after an inspiring performance in the fourth quarter of last week’s loss to Newberg.
If anyone thought the underclassman might be rattled facing an undefeated, top-ranked opponent in his first start, Mikey put those concerns to rest quickly. He showed incredible poise all night and found the end zone four times, all on passes to Canby’s corps of talented receivers.
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Nick Vandecoevering picks off the screen pass and @Canby_Football takes over at the 29. Mikey Gibson to Chance Miller to finish it off and Canby trails Tualatin with 11:03 to go in the 2nd quarter! Let’s go Cougs!!! #CanbyProud pic.twitter.com/dpTIT6AvKN
Junior Chance Miller had a huge game for Canby, catching two of those touchdown passes, while also forcing two turnovers on defense. Senior Jack Linman was the target for two scores of his own.
The Cougs’ final TD came in the fourth quarter, after junior Zack Markell subbed in at quarterback. He got his first score of the season on a keeper, scrambling into the end zone from the 20-yard line.
After the game, Coach Joyce praised the performances of Gibson and Miller. Stats were not yet available as of Saturday morning, but he confirmed Mikey had gained “a lot of yards” through the air.
“Offense is coming together,” he said. “We fought hard and had a lot of good efforts. Obviously not the result we wanted, but we battled for four quarters. Tualatin is a great team, and a great example of what we are trying to build here at Canby.”
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@Canby_Football falls but battles to the very end, 62-33. Great game, Cougs!!! pic.twitter.com/jbsfPj3FYQ
Canby returns home next Friday for a league match against Lakeridge. The Pacers are 2-3 on the season so far, and ranked 23rd in the state. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.